Power saw



Feb. 2, 1943. A. RONNING ,3

POWER SAW Filed March 11, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR ATTORNEY Feb. 2, 1943. A. RONNING POWER SAW Filed March 11, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 BY i Z 2 ATTORNEY A. RONNING Feb. 2, 1943.

POWER SAW Filed March 11, 1940 5 ,Shets-Sheet 5 I INVENTOR 0 01. Pl/ AO/WVM/G I i .ATTORNEYS atented Feb. 2, i943 rowan saw Adolph Running, Minneapolis, Minn. I Application March 11, 19in, Serial No. 323,354

12 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in power actuated saws. I

The primary object of the invention is to provide a tractor mounted saw actuated by the tractor engine and with power means for picking up logsor other timbers, feeding them to the saw and cutting them to any desired length. The machine may thus be used and operated by one man and for cutting timbers, railroad ties, poles, posts, cord wood and any other materials desired. Another object is to provide a tractor mounted and operated saw which may be manipulated by the driver fromhis seat on the tractor, or another person standing alongside, and in which the necessary up and down movements of the saw as it is raised above the log and then fed downwardly therethrough will control the operation of the log feeding means so that under no circumstances will such feedingmeans move the log while the saw is in position to engage the log. Another object is. to provide an automatic means for stopping the feeding mechanism when the log has been moved to a. desired location and position for cutting, said means being operated by contact of the logwith a stop which is adjustable for cutting any desired lengths from the log.

'A further object is to provide a guard for the saw itself which ismovable independently of the saw and its arbor to normallymove downwardly and protect or enclose all of the saw or the greatest possible part thereof.

Still a further object is to provide a means for preventing the log from rolling or turning as it is being cut.

These and other more detailed and specific objects will be disclosed in the course of the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 i a plan view of the rear portion of a tractor showing my saw-mounted thereon, parts of the saw being shown in cross section.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical. section sub for holding the log or timber from rolling as it is cut.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross section along the line5-5 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a enlarged fragmentary and partially diagrammatic view of the saw driving andsupporting means and showing the mechanism for controlling the-feed mechanism.

Fig. 7 is a plan, somewhat reduced in scale,

showing the saw arranged. at the front of the tractor instead ofat the rear. e Fig. 8 is an enlargedcrosssection along the line 8-8 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged longitudinal section along I Referring now with more particularity and by reference numerals to the drawings, a conventional form of general purpose tractor is designated at A and as shown comprises a chassis or frame B sup raorteil by large rear traction wheels C and smaller diriglble front wheels D. A power unit on the frame drives the wheels C.

The operators'seat is at E at the rear of the tractor and over the draw bar F whiclris. mounted in conventional fashion to the rear of the tractor by brackets G.

In Figs. 1 through 3, I have shown my saw as arranged at the rear of the tractor for operation by the usual rearwardly directed power takeeoff shaft H, while in Fig. 7 the saw is arranged at the frontal end of the tractor and. is actuated by the laterally projecting shaft I on which the belt pulley is usually mounted. Both of these shafts H and I are'under controlof a clutch lever (not shown) on the tractor so that they may be run atwill whether the tractor be moving or stationary,= in the usual manner.

The saw and mounting assembly of Figs. 1-3

comprises a transversely extended tubular beam iii which is journaled and carried in bearings l i afinred by bolts i2 passed through suitable conventionally provided openings IS in the draw bar at the lower end of a vertically axised control shaft ll journaled in a bearing 48, and abandwheel i9 is provided on top of this shaft to, turn the worm which. meshing with the gear Hi. will oscillate the beam about its axis as will be evident. The handwheel I9 is located conveniently to the hand of the driver in the seat E.

At its outer end the beam |0 carries a large, rigidly mounted bracket casting 29 on which is secured the forwardly directed log pickup and feeding mechanism designated generally at 2|. This mechanism comprises spaced channels 22 which are secured at rear ends 23 to the casting 26 and extend forwardly in parallel spaced relationship toa pickup shoe 24 to which they are secured at 25'. The spaced arrangement of these channels provides a central slot 2'! therebetween in which is arranged a chain 28 carrying suitable teeth or dogs 29 to engage and urge a log endwise along the mechanism, the said channels, e'a'ch sloping inwardly as clearly shown in Fig. 8 in order to center the log on the chain. At theforward end, the chain 28 is trained over a sprocket 30 journaled in the shoe 24 and at the rear it is placed over a drive sprocket 3| affixed to an outer end portion of a drive shaft 32 journaled at 33 in the casting 20. At each side of thesp'rocket 3| the shaft 32 carries tapered, truncate feed rolls 34 which engage the log and are provided with,'teeth 35 to grip and feed the'log endwise".

The pickup shoe. 24 has the slotted rear portion 35a to receive the'forward end of the chain 28 and sprocket 30, and the upper side 36 is sloped inwardly toward the center from each side to guide and center the'log to the chain. The nose 3! of the shoe angles downwardly to a point "so' that the end of a log may he slipped up into engagement with the chain and the flat underside 38 of the shoe is so disposed that the nose cannot dig into the ground. The entire mechanism 2| may of course, be swung up or down as the beam H1 is oscillated by handweeel l9 and the shoe-24 may thus be lowered to the ground and urged under the end of a log by forward movement of the tractor. When the logis engaged by the chain 28 it will then be fed endwise and rearwardly to the cutting position. During transport, the mechanism 2| is raised to substantially the horizontal position shown in Fig. 2.

A clutch housing 39 is secured by an offset sleeve 40 upon the beam I0 intermediate the bearings H and a drive shaft 4| is journaled longitudinally through said housing with its forward and projecting as shown. A telescopic connecting shaft 42 is connected by universal joints "43 with the power take-off shaft H and drive shaft 4| and operates to rotate the latter shaft at any position of the beam and associated parts, and of course under control of the clutch lever on the tractor. Within the housing 39 the shaft 4| carries a worm pinion 44 which meshes with a worm gear 45 loosely mounted on a transversely axised shaft 46 journaled in the housing. See Fig. 5. The gear 45 carries an annular clutch drum 4'! within which operates a clutch head 48 slidably but non-rotatably mounted on the shaft 46, the said head being normally urged into a disengaged relation with the drum 4'! by an expansion coil spring 49. A shifting fork 50 is carried by a fork shaft 5| journaled in the clutch housing above and at right angles to shaft 46 and -said fork embraces a pulley 52 secured to clutch head 48 in such manner that, by turning the shaft 5|, the clutch head may be engaged with the drum 41 against the resistance of the spring 49. Such action'of course causes the rotation of the shaft 46 and this shaftis connected by a telescopic connecting shaft 53 and universal joints 54 to the shaft 32 to drive the log feeding chain 28. See Figs. 1 and 3. The fork shaft 5| carries an arm 55 at the rear end for shifting the fork and, as best shown in Fig. 6, said arm has a bell crank lever 56 pivoted at 51 and normally urged t nt position in which the finger 58 forms an extension of the arm for a purpose which will appear. A spring 51a on the lever holds it in this position as shown.

The saw mechanism per se comprises an elongated hanger or supporting arm 59 which at one end'carries a tubular bearin 66 by means of which it is journaled about a longitudinal axis upon a tubular rear extension sleeve 6| of the clutch housing. The outer end of the arm 59 may thus swing in an up and down transverse Said outer end of the arm is arm and the saw arbor or mandrel 64 is journaled in this bearing. The aforesaid shaft 4| extends rearwardly from the sleeve 6| and carries a pulley 65in line with another pulley 66 on the arbor B4 and a belt 6'! trained over these pulleys transfers the drive from the power take-off shaft H to the saw, again under control of course of the clutch lever on the tractor. A circular saw 68 is secured to the forward end of the arbor 64 to turn therewith and therefore may move up and down over and through a log resting on the feed mechanism 2| to cut through the same transversely.

Innerand outer handles 69 and T6 are secured to the arm 59 and carry the forwardly disposed hand grips H by which the arm and saw may be raised and lowered as desired. The inner handle is located conveniently close to the drivers seat E while the outer handle is extended laterally for operation by a man standing alongside the machine. A torsional coil spring 12 surrounds the bearing 60 and is anchored at one end 13 thereto while at the other end it is secured to a collar 14 rigidly affixed upon the sleeve 6|. This spring is tensioned to at least partially co-unterio'alance the weight of the arm and saw and facilitate the raising and lowering thereof.

An operating rod 15 is secured at its angularly turned end 16 in a socket 11 adjacent the pivoted end of the arm 59 and at an oute end the rod has a hook 18 which stands in the plane of the finger 58 carried by the clutch operating arm 55. See Fig. 6. In any lowered position of the saw this hook l8 stands below the finger 58 but as the saw is raised to clear the log the hook as it is carried up by arm 59 will engage and raise the finger, oscillating the shaft and engaging the clutch head 48 with the drum 41. This action of course causes the feed mechanism to operate. The rod 15 may be locked at any agljusted position in the socket l! by a set screw The sleeve 69 of the saw supporting arm 59 carries a pawl or detent pin mounted in a lug 8| and the pin is urged by a coil spring 82 to engagement with the arcuate end face 83 of a stop ring 84 rigidly secured to the outer end of the sleeve 6|. Adjustable stop screws 85 en gage the pin 80 to limit both upward and downward movement of the arm and saw and in advance of the screw limiting upward movement a socket 86 is formed in said end face 83. As the saw is raised, therefore the pin 80 will first engage the socket 86 and at this time, the rod 75 being properly adjusted with respect'to the arm 59, the book 18 will just engage the finger a a log thereon as clearly shown in Fig. 1,

is thus required-that the operator:'liftaitheflsaw past the first stopping point, whieh-vis-of course calculated toclear the saw from thehlo b f the feed system will operate 'As the log is carried rearwa ingzmechanism its end passes? beneath: the. saw 1.

onto a area'r'wardly I extendedutable or l-rest. plate 8T which is of narrow elongated eformaand. is secured b'y an inner marginysto arrbeam 88uex tendedrigidly from a. socket 7.8 9, formed pin the ca'stingiflz Thistable'or'plateetlltinci nesidQWllr wardly aand outwardly as bests s en; in Fig ;3

so thatflth'e cut ends of the;logavillaofat e fl W1!) weight roll off clear of the machine'andy na-s much as; the-i entire saw: mechanism, operates, in

an inclined, plane (see -,Fig. 2.), the earien of the tableistands well above the ground there is-a 'clearancefor a goodly nurnbeno lengthsbas they fall. An additionalq extension table 81a maybe provided by telescoping itsjbeam 'B8a,.into the rear end of the main beam 8 f lclesired or necessary. v

Brackets 99 are secured in spaced rela on alongth'e inner side of the table 81 and slidably support a stop rod 9| of square cross section. A stop arm 92 is removably clamped as at 93 a? to the rod 9| andextends therefrom outwardly over the table for engagement with the end of The forward end of the rod 9| is connected at 94 with a cable 95 which is trained forwardly over a pulley 96, mounted in the casting 20, and extended therefrom inwardly over a pulley 91 on the clutch operating shaft and finally outward to a connection at 98 with the bell crank lever 56. The assembly and arrangement is such that a rearward movement of the stop arm 92, caused by engagement of the log therewith, will exert a pull upon the cable 95 such that the bell crank lever 56 will be oscillated to swing its finger 58 clear of the hook I8. This action of course will only obtain at a time when the saw is raised and the hook I8 is holding the clutch engaged as has been previously described, and the movement of the finger I8 by the cable will cause it to swing clear of the hook whereupon the clutch will immediately spring open or to disengaged condition. The feed movement of the log is thus automatically stopped and it is obvious that by adjusting the stop arm 92 along the rod 91 the lengths cut from the log may be; controlled and varied at will. As the saw is moved downward, the curved nose 18a of the hook I8 will pass the finger 58.

The saw 68 is enclosed by a guard 99 having on inner and outer sides of the yoke so that the guards may move upwardly or downwardly with respect to the saw. A slot I03 in the rear side of the guard clears the saw arbor 64 for this purpose and the parts-are of course so proportioned that the guard will at no time come in rent-act with the saw. This guard will of [ASH they. log -strikes'i,

its own weight normally hang downwardly to l e yii o e t the. s w: sperm m r f e y s it s s. nit e le e d the. (s t i s, w r

herethrqueh Sod hat only- 1a minif the saw is exposed, even hile The guard, so in r ,;,e t' loeeripping does 'liU ,O ;-.blth.frOnt and rear sides and-;.these, are ,pivoted on a, pin ,I 05 itostan d downward y a ain t the lo under, influe ce 1 a;spring, lllfigat eachisida -,The;,dogs,have teeth ioreonarthein ndersid gwh ehi.h the, l g

to ,preventithe.sarne from ollingp 1' j it is cutand ithe rearmostdogis of course, cut 8110117135 indicated .atL IOS toelear] the slot I93. The dogs may also be locked by set sore I99 manyposition de d-1a m v,2:In;operatic thebegim I 9 1s]rotate "to :tion in, which dire-pickup shoe; 214 'will K meathjthefSaiy. a'rm 92, the feed mechanism is automatical y}'disen'ga'ged' the ,sawmaythenbe lowered b ndfto' cut through 'f a ll 'clear and :e-

saw will again feed tt ing'. All of out easilyby the tract rthen moved" over g random lengths the ourse, removedarid the opeil the eejdby upwardfanddownward movementsjofv th 7 It will b evident-therefore, that m'yf'm 1 rovides he makiniuin' of speed, fiexibilit A g I, v heisawing of lumber lengthsb jahyf lfedk ind. The pulley 66 aitjh'e'sa jarbor fi l,is 'asshown in Figs. 10 and 11, of theoverrunning type in which an inner section III] is secured-to'thearbor and has an outer flange l'I'l againstwhich 'runs rollers I I2 mounted withihthe'ffeeo-utersection I I3. These rollers are located'in angular notches H4 so that, in the driven direction of' rotation,

the real" as has beenvdescribed. In this case-the" main elements of the saw structure are identically the same as the rear mounted version and wherever necessary are referred to by the same reference characters. The beam I9 is journaled in bearings Ila which are carried by a bracket II5 secured at H6 to the tractor inthe position at which the cultivator is usually bolted on such tractors. The drive for the saw and feed mechanism is connected to the rear end of the shaft 4| by a drive shaft I I1 extending rearwardly and connected through a bevel gear transmission I I8 to the laterally projecting belt pulley shaft I, the necessary universal joints I I9 being of course, provided as shown. Obviously, however, the

machine might here again be driven from the power take-off shaft H as has been described. The beam I0 is rotated by the worm I6 which in this case is actuated by a shaft I20 extending rearwardly through a bracket I2I to a handwheel I22 convenient to hand of operator.

For raising and lowering the saw from the p erator's seat I provide an elongated shaft I23 journaled alongside the tractor in bearings I24 and provided at the rear end with a hand lever I25. At the forward end of the shaft an arm I26 is afiixed and engages the pin I21 of a collar I28 secured to the arm 59 so that the hand lever may be manipulated to swing the arm about its pivotal connection in the manner set forth. Further details of the construction and operation of this embodiment of my invention will, it is thought, be apparent without further description herein.

For the sake of clarity in the reduced'scale showing of Fig. '7 the clutch operating'mechanism and certain other minor details are not.

shown but they are of course of the same construction as detailed hereinbefore.

It is understood that suitable modifications may be made in the structure as disclosed, provided such modifications come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Having now therefore fully illustrated and described my invention, what I claim to be new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is: A

1. A tractor mounted power saw, comprising a saw swingably supported on the tractor and operable thereby, a feeding mechanism for moving a timber toward the saw for cutting thereby, a clutch for connecting said feeding mechanism to the tractor for power operation thereby, a clutch control device for engaging the clutch only when the saw is in a position in which it clears the path of the timber, means normally limiting movement of the saw away from the timber to a point at which said clutch will not be engaged but manually releasable for further movement of the saw, and means operated by such further movement of the saw for engaging the clutch.

2. A tractor mounted saw, comprising a beam journaled transversely on the tractor, a feed device secured at one end to the beam for movements in an upright longitudinal plane, a shoe at a forward end of thefeed device for engagement beneath a log in a lowered position of the device and in response to forward movement of the tractor, power actuated means for advancing the log upwardly and rearwardly along said feed device, and means for sawing off the log as it is advanced by the feed means.

3. A tractor mounted saw, comprising a beam' v is advanced by the feed means.

4. A tractor operated saw, comprising a beam journaled transversely on the tractor, a feed device secured at one end to the beam for up and down movements in a longitudinal plane, the said device comprising spaced parallel and inwardly sloping channels, a chain operable between the channels. a forwardly pointed shoe at the forward end of the channels and movable beneath the end of a log by forward movement of the tractor to thereby cause the chain to engage and feed the log rearwardly. and a circular saw power actuated by the tractor and movable in a crosswise direction at the rear of the feed device for cutting end lengths of the log as it is moved rearwardly.

5. A tractor operated saw comprising a beam journaled transversely at the rear of the tractor, means operable from the tractor seat for oscillating the beam, a log pickup and feed device supported alongside the tractor by the beam for up and down movements in a longitudinal plane, an arm swingably supported from the beam and movable from the tractor seat in up and down directions transversely with respect to the feed device, a saw on an outer end of the arm, and power means for operating both the feed device and the saw.

6. A tractor mounted saw comprising a beam journaled transversely at the forward end of the tractor, means extending rearwardly for operation from the tractor seat for rotating the beam. 2. log pickup and feed device supported by the beam for up and down movements in a longitudinal plane, an arm swingably supported for up and down movements in a transverse plane and extending at an outer end over the feed device, a saw on the outer end of the arm, means extended to the rear of the tractor for operation from the seat for swinging the arm and saw toward and away from the feed device, and power operated means for operating the feed device and the saw.

'7. A power saw mounted on a tractor and comprising, an arm mounted on the tractor for upward and downward movements with respect thereto, a saw operatively mounted on the arm, a feeding mechanism for advancing and supporting a timber in cutting position beneath the saw power means connected for operating the feeding mechanism and including a clutch for engaging and disengaging the connection between power means and feeding mechanism, an operating arm on the clutch, a movable finger on the operating arm, a hook carried by the saw supporting arm in position for engaging the said finger member and actuating the operating arm to engage the clutch as the saw is swung upwardly awayf from the timber, and means operated by advance movement of the timber for swinging the finger member clear of the hook in the raised i position of the saw and thereby disengaging the clutch.

8. A power operated saw comprising a saw support arm having an oscillatable bearing at one end by which it is supported for swinging movements, a saw on the arm, a prime mover connected to operate the saw, timber feeding means for advancing and supporting a timber in movement of the saw away from the timber short of the positive limit of such movement. and means responsive to movement of the saw from its normally limited position to its positively limited position for actuating and engaging the cent the bearing, adjustable stops mounted on the rigid member and disposed in the path travelled by the pawl as the bearing member oscillates to thereby positively limit upward and downward movement of the arm and saw, the said rigid member also having a recess for frictional engagement with the pawl to normally limit upward movement of the arm and saw short of the positive limit of such movement, the said pawl being manually releasable from the recess by forcible upward movement of the arm to permit the further upward movement of the saw to its positive limit, and means operated by said further movement of the arm and saw for engaging the said clutch.

10. A power operated circular saw, comprising a frame member supported for movement toward and away from the work, a shaft extended from a the frame member and supporting the saw, a guard adapted at one edge to contact the work and having spaced sides to loosely enclose the saw, means supporting the guard for movement relative to the saw, as the saw enters the work, the said guard having a slot in one side to clear the shaft, the saidslot extending through the work engaging edge of the-guard, work holding dogs mounted on each side of the guard, and

the dog on the slotted side of the guardbeing' cutshort to clear the said slot and shaft.

11. A power operated circularsaw, comprising. a frame member supported for movement toward and away from the work, a shaft extended from the frame member and supporting the saw, a guard adapted at one edge to contact the work and having spaced sides loosely enclosing the saw, means movably supporting the guard whereby the'saw may move outwardly to the work through the said work engaging edge of the guard, dogs on the work engaging edge of the guard, the said dogs being oscillatably mounted, and means yieldably urging the dogs toward and into engagement with the work.

12. The combination with a tractor, of a timber saw operatively varranged on the tractor, a feed device operated by the tractor for feeding' a timber to the saw, and a pickup means. disposed for engagement beneath a timber and operative by forward travel movement of the tractor to elevate and guide the timber into operative engagement with the feed device.

ADOLPH RQNNING. 

